Is it just me....

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Raiders90

Well-known member
Is it just me or does Harrison at times not feel like Indy?

I can't explain it. Something has changed about him, and it ain't just age, and it isn't the script. There's a certain rakish quality to his performance missing. Like in the original movies, and even in the Mystery of the Blues segment, he FEELS and ACTS like Indy.

I can't really explain it, but in this one he doesn't feel like Indy. He just feels like Jack Ryan wearing the Indy costume. Something about his tone of voice, or his vocal performance, or his gestures, just feels "off." It doesn't feel like Indy but Harrison Ford in the costume. I can't really explain it, like I said, there's just a certain "thing" missing. A certain element in the characterization that set Indy apart from Harrison's other heroic characters.
 
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Montana Smith

Active member
Raiders112390 said:
Is it just me or does Harrison at times not feel like Indy?

I can't explain it. Something has changed about him, and it ain't just age, and it isn't the script. There's a certain rakish quality to his performance missing. Like in the original movies, and even in the Mystery of the Blues segment, he FEELS and ACTS like Indy.

I can't really explain it, but in this one he doesn't feel like Indy. He just feels like Jack Ryan wearing the Indy costume. Something about his tone of voice, or his vocal performance, or his gestures, just feels "off." It doesn't feel like Indy but Harrison Ford in the costume. I can't really explain it, like I said, there's just a certain "thing" missing. A certain element in the characterization that set Indy apart from Harrison's other heroic characters.
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I didn't get that feeling at all. To me Harrison was the one rock-solid genuine Indy element in the film, disregarding his surviving the fridge landing.

The only difference was that this time he was called upon to play on the issue of his age and his increased responsibilities. There's no denying that this is an older representation of the rakish younger rogue.
 
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Raiders90

Well-known member
Montana Smith said:
I didn't get that feeling at all. To me Harrison was the one rock-solid genuine Indy element in the film, disregarding his surviving the fridge landing.

The only difference was that this time he was called upon to play on the issue of his age and his increased responsibilities. There's no denying that this is an older representation of the rakish younger rogue.
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The whole idea of playing on Indy's age is kind of stupid when you consider the fridge scene. He's either an older man who isn't as strong as he once was and whom time is leaving behind, or he's an invincible superhero who can survive nuclear explosions without nary a scratch. You can't have it both ways.
 
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Montana Smith

Active member
Raiders112390 said:
The whole idea of playing on Indy's age is kind of stupid when you consider the fridge scene. He's either an older man who isn't as strong as he once was and whom time is leaving behind, or he's an invincible superhero who can survive nuclear explosions without nary a scratch. You can't have it both ways.
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The thing with the fridge is the conceit that it was a protective 'cage'. With the right amount of luck any person could have survived it. But they would have needed the supernatural level of luck which Indy possesses. Apart from the irony and reference to 1950s culture, the fridge was the most extreme cliff-hanger, of which Indy has survived many (they often require a level of luck to survive, a series of events all going right in sequence).
 
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Raiders90

Well-known member
Montana Smith said:
The thing with the fridge is the conceit that it was a protective 'cage'. With the right amount of luck any person could have survived it. But they would have needed the supernatural level of luck which Indy possesses. Apart from the irony and reference to 1950s culture, the fridge was the most extreme cliff-hanger, of which Indy has survived many (they often require a level of luck to survive, a series of events all going right in sequence).
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I really don't think ANYBODY could survive the Fridge scene in real life. I live in NYC, the eye of the storm in terms of what terrorists want to destroy, so maybe (if my medical problems don't kill me first) one day I'll get the chance to see for myself.

I just think that, yes, while Indy has survived cliff hangers which STRETCHED the suspension of disbelief, none of his cliff hangers prior to KOTCS ever broke it. You know? Like while it's borderline, I could believe the whole life raft scene in TOD. It's almost believable, if highly unlikely. But the fridge just goes way too far. And storywise, there was no point to it. It just feels like filler, added in because Spielberg always wanted a nuke-fridge scene and to pad out the film.
 
Dr.Sartorius

Dr.Sartorius

New member
Raiders112390 said:
Is it just me or does Harrison at times not feel like Indy?

I can't explain it. Something has changed about him, and it ain't just age, and it isn't the script. There's a certain rakish quality to his performance missing. Like in the original movies, and even in the Mystery of the Blues segment, he FEELS and ACTS like Indy.

I can't really explain it, but in this one he doesn't feel like Indy. He just feels like Jack Ryan wearing the Indy costume. Something about his tone of voice, or his vocal performance, or his gestures, just feels "off." It doesn't feel like Indy but Harrison Ford in the costume. I can't really explain it, like I said, there's just a certain "thing" missing. A certain element in the characterization that set Indy apart from Harrison's other heroic characters.
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Must be just you.

Harrison felt like Indy 100% of the time, with the gear and without the gear.

I just think that, yes, while Indy has survived cliff hangers which STRETCHED the suspension of disbelief, none of his cliff hangers prior to KOTCS ever broke it. You know? Like while it's borderline, I could believe the whole life raft scene in TOD. It's almost believable, if highly unlikely. But the fridge just goes way too far.
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Like surviving latching onto a submerged submarine for an extended amount of time, free falling from a crashing airplane in an inflatable raft at hundreds of miles per hour and landing safely, surviving a fall off a 500 ft+ cliff into white water rapids? That kind of believable?
 
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Darth Vile

New member
The only real quantifiable difference is Harrison's age. Doesn't matter wether he plays Indiana Jones as a fallible older man or superhero, Harrison Ford is considerably older than what he was in the originals... so it's going to be somewhat different. For example, show Indy in his 30's nursing a wound and walking off a limp, he looks like a grizzled hero. Do the same thing with a 70 year old and it just serves to underline his old age. A difficult line to tread.
 
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Mickiana

Well-known member
Besides Pat Roach, Harrison's performance as Indy was the most consistent thing in the whole series. I could deal with the age issue as Harrison has kept in good shape. Besides the nuance differences from movie to movie, Harry made the series.
 
DiscoLad

DiscoLad

New member
Raiders112390 said:
I can't really explain it, but in this one he doesn't feel like Indy. He just feels like Jack Ryan wearing the Indy costume. Something about his tone of voice, or his vocal performance, or his gestures, just feels "off." It doesn't feel like Indy but Harrison Ford in the costume. I can't really explain it, like I said, there's just a certain "thing" missing. A certain element in the characterization that set Indy apart from Harrison's other heroic characters.
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Oh man I thought that was just me.

I know what you mean, I felt the same way watching the movie.
Even after I watched it a couple of times thinking it was just the first time that would happen.
I feel something has changed about Indy.
I want to say between attitude and the way he holds himself in the new movie is what i'm going to run with.

It just ain't Indy.
I also felt the costume didn't really look as good as it had in the previous movies. Call me crazy...
 
Henry W Jones

Henry W Jones

New member
Harrison is still Indy. The roll has changed a little with age as to be expected. If we had not had to wait almost 20 years for the movie it would not be as noticeable. Do you think Han Solo at 70 would seem different? Probably. People change with age, Indy included. Also as far as the outfit I believe every so often after you have been dragged behind a truck you need to replace some of your attire. Fashion as well as people change over time. I think in the 22 year timeline the movies take place if the clothes didn't change a little it would be off. Indy doesn't strike me as the type to stock pile 22 years worth of the same clothes. Just a thought.
 
The Man

The Man

Well-known member
I felt that as the film declined, Harrison ironically shone more. He loosens up wonderfully in the final third. The ant scrap, waterfalls, even the limp finale is vintage Indy...even if he is of of considerable vintage.
 
Dr Bones

Dr Bones

New member
The Man said:
I felt that as the film declined, Harrison ironically shone more. He loosens up wonderfully in the final third. The ant scrap, waterfalls, even the limp finale is vintage Indy...even if he is of of considerable vintage.
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Could that be as the viewer settles into the film, they forget he's Harrison and remember he's Indy? :confused:

Whenever I sit down to watch this (which I have twice in the last couple of weeks) I got the feeling I was watching Harrison then got into the film and relaxed into an Indy adventure. Is it me as a viewer or Harrison's acting or script etc?

The thing that I thought odd about his performance is that he seemed overdubbed. His voice was Harrison but it sounded too crisp for the environments as opposed to the other cast members. Like his lines were all redone in a studio. Then again to me the whole film feels like a Lucas CGI studio as opposed to on location realism.

Maybe it's just a quality his voice has? :confused:
 
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Darth Vile

New member
Dr Bones said:
Could that be as the viewer settles into the film, they forget he's Harrison and remember he's Indy? :confused:
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I think that's a very good point. For me the biggest difference between KOTCS and the other movies is Ford's age (and the consequence of moving the movie's setting forward in time). It's very easy to reconcile that dramatic change by blaming the shape of his hat or the lighting... but his age is a massive obstacle for the audience to overcome (IMHO)... although I think it's at a more subconscious level. The fact that his age isn't often discussed as a key issue is a testament to how much we like Ford (as an actor, as the character).

To get back to your point... I think as the movie progresses (although the 2nd half probably isn't as good as the first half), we the audience, get more accustomed to his age/look.
 
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Faleel

New member
Raiders112390 said:
Is it just me or does Harrison at times not feel like Indy?

I can't explain it. Something has changed about him, and it ain't just age, and it isn't the script. There's a certain rakish quality to his performance missing. Like in the original movies, and even in the Mystery of the Blues segment, he FEELS and ACTS like Indy.

I can't really explain it, but in this one he doesn't feel like Indy. He just feels like Jack Ryan wearing the Indy costume. Something about his tone of voice, or his vocal performance, or his gestures, just feels "off." It doesn't feel like Indy but Harrison Ford in the costume. I can't really explain it, like I said, there's just a certain "thing" missing. A certain element in the characterization that set Indy apart from Harrison's other heroic characters.
Click to expand...

His hair was a different color?
 
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